The newly purchased building covers 108,000 square feet, compared with 85,600 square feet at the Wauwatosa plant. Plans for the Wauwatosa location are still being formulated, Bates said. The company may continue to use the plant, he said.

The Wauwatosa building is near an area that has seen extensive retail redevelopment with the Mayfair Collection shopping complex just across Burleigh Street to the north and a large Meijer store to the east.

The 62-year-old Central Steel & Wire building, 4343 S. 6th St., was once widely admired for its design, and particularly for the long bands of windows that allowed the structure to glow at night like an industrial jewel.

But the windows leaked badly, and in 2001 Central Steel covered them with metal panels, much to the dismay of architecture fans.

Still, because of its location, the building is seen by tens of thousands of motorists daily.

The $7.1 million Alro paid for the building and its 10-acre lot is more than double the assessed value of $2.9 million.

Based in Jackson, Michigan, Alro operates more than 60 locations in 12 states.